PHILADELPHIA — This is just the type of matchup, Saturday afternoon against the Flyers, for which Derek Dorsett was acquired by the Rangers at last year’s trade deadline.
It is also exactly the type of an opponent management had in mind when acquiring Daniel Carcillo on Jan. 4, a day after Dorsett sustained a broken leg blocking a shot in Pittsburgh.
So with Dorsett ready to rejoin the lineup after having been a healthy scratch for Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the Blackhawks, coach Alain Vigneault has a personnel decision pending for the match against the Flyers.
“I do want to get [Dorsett] in sooner than later,” Vigneault said following practice Friday at the training facility. “I’m going to finish watching the Philly game from [Thursday] night and talk to my staff and see if we are going to make any changes on any of our lines.”
It is possible Dorsett could replace J.T. Miller on the unit with Derick Brassard and Benoit Pouliot while Carcillo remains in and on the fourth line with Brian Boyle and Dominic Moore.
Miller’s forecheck created the Jonathan Toews’ giveaway that preceded Brassard’s first period goal on Thursday. The 20-year-old winger, recalled on Tuesday from AHL Hartford in the wake of Mats Zuccarello’s hand injury, had two shots, three attempts and two recorded hits while picking up a bad penalty in 12:18 of his first Rangers game since Jan. 6.
Carcillo’s lone fight in 16 games as a Ranger came against the Flyers’ Luke Schenn on Jan. 12 at the Garden. Carcillo played two-plus seasons with Philadelphia before leaving as a free agent for Chicago following 2010-11.
The Blueshirts follow Saturday’s game with a match at home Sunday night against the brawny Bruins, who are also an opponent fit for the styles of both Dorsett and Carcillo.
The Flyers, who were hammered at home by the Sharks 7-3 on Thursday, are in third place in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the Rangers with each team having 22 games remaining. Philadelphia leads fourth-place Washington by one point for the final division playoff berth; the Capitals also have 22 games left.
Vigneault revealed seventh defenseman Justin Falk, who has not played since Dec. 29, declined the Rangers’ invitation to go to the AHL Wolf Pack for a conditioning assignment of up to 14 days. The coach, who said he broached the subject when the Rangers returned from the Olympic break on Feb. 20, seemed and claimed to have no issue at all with Falk’s decision and said he is confident he could play if necessary.
“He’s our seventh defenseman,” Vigneault said of Falk, whose pregnant wife is nearing her due date. Players have the option of declining a conditioning assignment, but few do.
Chris Kreider has gone eight games without a point and has recorded a point in just one of his last 13 matches, getting a goal and two assists in the Blueshirts’ 5-3 defeat to the Islanders on Jan. 21.
Henrik Lundqvist will return to nets after backing up Cam Talbot on Thursday. Lundqvist said he has had ample time to readjust to the NHL’s smaller ice surface.
“Let’s not complicate things,” the goaltender said, laughing, after taking his third or fourth question on the subject. “I’ve been here for a long time; I was there for two weeks.”